A Friend In Need
by messrmo0ny
Summary: He was the heir of The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. What made him any different? Sirius Black and James Potter, the beginning of an epic friendship.
1. A Friend In Need

**A/N: **The sorting of Sirius Black. Fits in with my WIP "The Ties That Bind" but I really wanted a Sirius version of it so here goes...

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><p><strong>"A Friend In Need"<strong>

"GRYFFINDOR" shrieked the hat and with that sound, everything else in the Great Hall stopped abruptly. Even the whispers that had started when the name "Black, Sirius" had been called up ceased as the face stared up at him soundlessly.

Sirius took off the hat and stood up, running his eyes over the four tables laid out in front of him, where even the ghosts seemed to be waiting with bated breathes.

For the first time, in his eleven years of existence, Sirius Orion Black was unsure of himself.

He nervously ran a hand through his mane of dark curls, shoulders slightly bent, knees shaking, it was a picture that no one had ever seen before. He was known for his rebellious streak and his parents had been somewhat lenient with him on account of him being the heir, but he had a feeling that this time he had gone a step too far.

Sirius Orion Black. Yes, that was his name. He was sure of that.

Or was he?

Why had the grubby hat just called out Gryffindor if he was indeed Sirius Orion Black, heir of The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black-a family that prided themselves on their strictly serpent heritage.

What made him any different?

His eyes briefly found the Slytherin table where his cousins were seated, looking up at him, dumbfounded like the rest of the hall. What made him any different to them?

And then his gaze moved to the Gryffindor table. How would they feel having a Black amongst them?

No. He wouldn't fit in.

Maybe he should just put on the hat again and beg it to take back what it had just yelled. After all, he had just convinced it to put him in Gryffindor. He was pretty sure he could convince it otherwise.

_Yes_, he thought, _that's what I'll do_.

He turned back around to face the stool where the sorting hat sat, ready to watch the world around him disappear as he pulled the ragged fabric down over his eyes. He was about to make a move but a voice, ringing out loud and clear through the Great Hall stopped him in his tracks.

"WAY TO GO BLACK!" yelled James Potter from the line of first years still waiting to be sorted.

It was like a spell had been broken. The crimson and gold Gryffindor table burst into the loudest cheers yet, some jumping up and down on their chairs as they screamed. It didn't take long for the other houses and even the staff to join in until the roar became deafening and the tables began to shake.

Sirius found James in the chaos. He was grinning madly back up at him, taking off an invisible hat and giving him an elaborate bow.

Sirius grinned gratefully back as he made his way over to his still cheering house, pausing only to smirk at his cousins and the other bewildered Slytherins who had not joined in the revelry.

_This_ was what made him different, he realised.

He had a friend like James Potter who would stand by him even when no one else would, even if they had only known each other for a few short hours.

He had a friend like James Potter.

And that was enough.

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><p><strong>AN: **Please let me know what you think!

**Update: **Not a one-shot anymore but a three-shot :)


	2. A Friend Indeed

**A/N: **quick thanks to Blue Luver5000 who inspired me to write another chapter.

**Update: **Just edited this and managed to catch most of the rogue commas but if you see anymore let me know. Chapter 3 the last one for this three-shot thing will be here shortly :) and of course lots of love to you all!

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><p><strong>"A Friend Indeed"<strong>

It was the only thing he had ever wanted at least that's what he told himself as he limped through the alley way, trying to find somewhere to apparate. It was the only thing he had ever wanted but it still hurt.

It still hurt, getting blasted off his own family tree. It still hurt as his father spat at him to leave and never return. It still hurt knowing that there was no going back and that his own family would never speak to him again. It still hurt because no matter how much he fought, how different he said he was, or how much he claimed he did not care, the fact still remained that somewhere (deep down) he did.

Why else would he be standing there in the pouring rain, at that doorstep that looked so familiar yet so alien? Why else would he be standing there in the pouring rain, sick to the stomach with hurt and confusion? He did care and he hated it.

For the second time in his life, Sirius Orion Black was unsure of himself.

He shivered in his soaking clothes, taking to inspecting the worn out welcome mat Mrs Potter had meant to fix years ago while he waited. The edges were frayed where the 'E' was supposed to be and if he stared hard enough he could just count the number of loose threads.

Sirius looked up when the giant wooden door finally swung open to reveal the familiar face of a bleary eyed and very sleepy James Potter. He was standing there in a Chudley Cannons t-shirt with his hair sticking out in all directions, even more so than usual.

His eyes widened when he saw Sirius. "Padfoot." He said, tilting his head to the side. He looked like he was going to say something else but instead he just yawned, swinging the door open wider and stepping aside.

The living room was dry and thankfully warm. Sirius had been here countless times but it still came as a shock after almost a week at his own home. Only it wasn't his home anymore. He had no home.

The Potters' place was everything a home was supposed to be and everything that Grimmauld Place was not. Sirius looked around the at the comfy couches, the giant fireplace and dozens of pictures scattered around the room of James and his family who were smiling and waving back at him and felt a pang of what may or may not have been envy. He had always felt at home here but he still had his name back then. He had still been Sirius Orion Black. He watched the pictures more closely and found that he was in some of them as well. There was that picture from the time they had taken James' new Nimbus 1001 down to the lake by the Potters' country estate. They had almost not been able to salvage the broom which had ended up in the middle of said lake and Mr Potter had to rescue both the broom and the two boys who had gone in to recover it. Then there was the one of James and Sirius messing around with the invisibility cloak the Christmas James had received it from his father. James' arm and part of his head were missing whilst Sirius looked like he was floating with his legs made invisible.

At some point, he must have stopped paying attention to where he was going and instead just allowed himself to be led up the stairs by the gentle but firm hand on his back. It wasn't until they reached his room that he finally brought himself back to focus on the still bleary eyed James who was holding out a towel for him.

"So they finally did it eh?" asked James softly as Sirius accepted the towel. It was a voice reserved for the most intimate. Sirius was one of only a handful who had seen this side of James, not Prongs, not the marauder, but James. He tried to stop shivering as he worked on drying himself and if he avoided his friend's eyes James didn't comment.

Finally when he was done and he looked up and nodded slowly.

He could see James' brow furrow as he studied Sirius, looking for something, a clue that didn't seem to be there. Sirius had long since learned to mask his emotions and he kept them guarded as watched his friend. After a while James looked away, whatever he had been searching for he came off disappointed.

"Good on you, mate" he said after a while apparently not knowing what else to say. He turned then, to return to his own room where he could return to sleep and let Sirius get his own but the other marauder's voice stopped him

"James?" It was the first thing he had said since he had arrived and his voice was a little raspy.

"hmm?"

"Thanks"

He put everything into that one word, everything that he couldn't express otherwise. All his gratitude and all his pain came rushing out in that one word. There was nothing else he needed to say.

James smiled before leaving him to settle into his new home.

Only it wasn't really new. It had been there all along, he just hadn't been able to open his eyes to see it. It had been there all along, his family, his home, everything he had ever wanted had been there for him all this time.

He _did _have a home. He always had.

He _did _have a family. He had a family who would give anything and everything to keep him safe. He had a family who cared about _him_rather than the heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black.

But most of all he had James Potter, a brother who would take him in even when his own family had cast him out.

He had James Potter who had asked no questions when he had turned up soaking wet on his doorstep at 2 in the morning.

He had James Potter and that was enough.

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><p><strong>AN: **And there you have it! Thanks for reading and don't forget to let me know what you think :)


	3. But What of the Traitor?

**A/N: **Last chapter! Thank you so much for sticking with this and sorry it took so long. Hugs and lots of love to you all ~M

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><p><strong>"But What of the Traitor?"<strong>

The house was a shell of what it had been. The warmth that once surrounded it had been shattered and the place itself had been reduced to a dark grey pile of rubble. The sight of the open door that had always been so inviting and homely just made his insides turn with dread.

He could never remember for sure much of what happened next. Maybe he had sprinted up the path or maybe he had crawled, either way every inch had hurt and every second had clouded the remainder of his sanity. The sanity he had clung to despite the raging war.

The truth was the war had never hit so close to home.

He found James first. He didn't know what he was expecting – wild dark hair and a devilish smirk? James had always said that he would give Voldemort hell and that he would go down laughing if not fighting. What he found was a gangly body, limp and lifeless that looked small yet so much older than the boy-the _man_- Sirius had known. There wasn't even the ghost of the smirk that belonged on James Potter's face. Voldemort had taken it from him. His best friend was gone and maybe Sirius sank to his knees and maybe he wept. Maybe he had yelled at James to wake up and when that hadn't worked maybe he had rocked back and forth, whispering apologies into his friend's tear dampened hair. Sirius could never remember for sure.

When he had finally managed to pull himself away from James he staggered upstairs, clutching the railing to steady himself. He found her in the nursery. The room that Sirius had once slept in had been remade after Lily had proudly announced that she was expecting. She lay slumped next to the cradle, her face covered by red curls. He let out a half-sob, brushing aside the curtain of hair as he took in the pleading look on her face. It didn't belong there. He had seen her grow from Lily Evans into Lily Potter and not once had she looked so _weak_.

It was then that he heard the blubbering. He had ignored the cradle until then. He didn't have the heart to face it but the sound was enough to make him let go of Lily's hand. Baby Harry with his dark hair and his green eyes stared up at him. He was on the verge of frightened tears but when Sirius whispered his name and scooped him up he began to smile.

Sirius took the moment to think, to pause and take in the enormity of what had just happened. He was still Sirius Orion Black... sort of. A part of him had died that night to be sure. He had had a friend like James and it had been enough. James had been taken from him and beneath the choking grief a new anger was building. He needed vengeance.

The baby in his hands was humming in contentment and Sirius pulled him close.

"Harry James Potter" he pronounced each word carefully as the curious green eyes watched him "you look just like your father. He's gone now but I swear I will avenge him and then I'll come back to you. I will look after you- I promise."

He had found the traitor Pettigrew and he had looked him in the eyes. "Why?" he had asked, trying to keep his breathing measured. He never got his answer. When the dementors came for him he fought not for his own life but for Harry's. It hit him hard when he realized that once again he had let the Potters down. He had broken his promise. Again. James Potter had always been there for him but he couldn't repay the favour. That alone was worse than any dementor's kiss.

When the dementors came for him he fought and the last sane thought he had was for the Potters he had failed. He thought of Harry, Lily and most of all his best friend-his _brother-_ James.

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><p><strong>AN: **What did you think? Not a happy ending I know but Order of the Phoenix sort of made up for it right?


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